Jack Bates: Through the Lens

“I’m never satisfied.”

JUPITER, FL – April 29, 2017 – They say the best part of judging character is knowing yourself, and for photographer Jack Bates, his constant self-dissatisfaction is, in large part, an attribution to his success story. His thirst for knowledge for what it takes to get the best possible shot pushes the envelope on conventional photography settings within his elected trade. You might say his portfolio is ever changing on account of his tendency to try new things; albeit, he maintains a certain style that appeals to others.

Sitting down with Bates on a spring-like Jupiter afternoon, I’m surprised at how humble he is. As he delves into each thought that my questions evoke, I can’t help but notice that his gaze drifts toward the sun behind him, which leads me to believe he is also probably thinking if he will be able to get optimal natural light during a scheduled session he has later on. He keeps a busy schedule; it was hard enough to track him down. No mistake here: This is one of Jupiter’s most sought after photographers; this is the guy that can obtain fascinating underwater still frames or capture the essence of a storybook wedding from behind the lens. Nevertheless, he carries himself as if he just took up photography the day before.

He says, “The word ‘settling’ is not really in my vocabulary. I will take as many shots of something until I feel I get it right and I have everything I need out of a session; that way, I can go back and carefully examine each photo from all angles later, and that of course varies with each subject. I’m always educating myself – whether it’s before a shoot, on location, or during the post-shoot process – I’m always learning, and that helps my progress.”

This approach is certainly not downplayed: Bates averages nearly 7,000 photos per wedding shoot while his actual returns fluctuate between 400 to 500 photos per basic package. Now multiply that by the average 30 weddings he does a year… that’s a lot of photos, right? Imagine the level of dedication this entails. That’s the Bates Method, to coin a term.

But it’s not just weddings that he specializes in. His portfolio includes unique captures obtained at various engagements, landscape, and lifestyle shoots. According to Bates, there’s a package to suit any taste and/or particular need, and he will go the extra mile for his client to ensure that is the case. His growing presence in the esoteric circles of photography in Jupiter and all of South Florida has led to him being in a state of high demand – although this current situation did not occur overnight.

CHASING SUNSETS

From the moment he obtained his first camera – a Nikon D5000 with a zoom lens – in eighth grade, Bates recounts that he’s been chasing sunsets – or shooting settings involving the sunset. While we may not have the over-the-water sunsets here in Jupiter, there are still postcard locations to shoot during the twilight hour and Bates is very familiar with most of them. Although he remarks that Jupiter has a knack for harboring untapped, undisclosed locations where one-of-a-kind photo shoots are made possible.

“The sun explodes in Jupiter five out of seven days out of the week,” Bates notes. “Seeing the photos I got out of these sunsets made me enjoy the process more and more, and made me want to go out there the next day and see if I could get even better shots.”

Things took a turn when he got a wide-angle lens for Christmas one year.

“For me, it all started when I learned how to do wide-angle shots,” Bates recalls. “Go-Pro wasn’t around at this point, so I started experimenting with the wide-angle lens, and all of a sudden I started receiving compliments from people about my photography.”

While wide-angle shots might have been the opening stages of Bates’ photography venture, he cites learning how to do long exposure shots as the skill that cinched his capacity for photography and an intention to pursue it was born.

“When I figured out that I could paint, essentially, a photo with the exposure tripod and capture motion on a frame – that was it for me, I became addicted,” Bates recaptures the discovery with awe. “Photography become an art, and I couldn’t put the camera down.”

THE NEVER-ENDING PORTFOLIO

But he did put the camera down, briefly, when he went to school at University of North Florida (UNF). He focused his energy on a career in the field of Nutrition, his college major. However, upon graduation, he became disengaged with the nutrition program and the particular path he found himself in and could no longer hide from his love for photography and how that could potentially result in his ideal job – so he opted for the route of entrepreneur photographer. He compiled his best photos into a portfolio, which he claims he’s currently still working on; upgraded to a full-frame camera; and became involved with a wedding photography company. Gradually, things started to happen.

“Everyone that has ever asked for my advice in terms of becoming a photographer, I’ve always responded the same thing: ‘Build a portfolio,’ Bates affirms. “That’s the mindset; it’s what sets you apart, so it is the most important thing to focus on. That was my focus from the beginning and it certainly had its effect. To this day, I’m still working on my portfolio.”

OF COLOR, STYLE, AND THANKFULNESS
To take another page out of Bates’ book, he stresses the importance of color in every composition. In his mind, the more the colors pop, the better the image he has produced – this is his mentality for every single snapshot traveling in his throughput.

“Color is the most important thing to me,” Bates admits. “Sharpness is epic, but color always comes first. It doesn’t matter if the image is the sharpest, most seemingly perfect photo; if the colors aren’t appealing, it’s not right. People respond to color; color draws you in. However, the trick is manipulating the color to give the photo its right hue and luminance for the composition to be complete.”

Therefore, he ensures that the colors are always enhanced in every photo he works on – whether that photo was taken on land or underwater. The latter of which being one of Bates’ staple trademarks, one that has produced waves in the wedding circuit in South Florida. Bates is well-versed in underwater photography. What began as a free-diving experiment to obtain shots of marine life became a regular option within his “Trash the Dress” wedding photography package.

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“Underwater photography has always been an obsession of mine – particularly to capture a certain depth of field in an underwater photo,” says Bates. “Once I learned how to shoot marine animals in their essence by understanding what the light was doing underwater, nailing the focus while maintaining a low aperture, I wanted to take it up another notch and see how people felt about me shooting them underwater in their wedding clothes. The response was incredibly positive.”

As far as photography style goes, Bates adheres to a candid approach. That is to say, he does not go into a photo shoot with clear expectations; he prefers to let the magic unfold in front of the lens where spontaneity from the subject is paramount. He also prefers the setting of the shoot to remain natural – whether rain or shine – provided there’s enough light to maintain aesthetics.

Throughout his budding career as a photographer, Bates has never been without his family’s support. His parents purchased his first two cameras and the wide-angle lens that blazed the trail of his exploits in photography. In addition to that, Bates’ right hand in the majority of his photo sessions – whether professional or personal – is long-time girlfriend and photographer Paige Vuoto: A two-man original operation that slowly expanded into six people, allowing Bates to book more than one event a day as of late.

“I am well aware that I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of my family and the community,” Bates says. “Everyone that I encountered gave me a chance – they still do – and it helped me believe that I could become who I aspired to be. I can’t stress enough how thankful and lucky I am.”

SNAP GEAR + CREATIVE SPACE

As humble and laid-back as he projects himself to be, Bates goes stern when we touch on the subject of equipment. According to him, “That is the one thing I go nuts about.” There is no flexibility: There are definite pieces that he needs to be equipped with for every shoot in spite of any and all conditions. These include a tripod; two full-frame DSLR cameras (Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and the Sony a7R II Alpha); prime fast lenses optimized to a specific focal length or purpose such as wide angle, mid-range portrait, and telephoto; a reflector to catch light; and a diffuser if the light is harsh.

“In my opinion, this is all a photographer needs, yet I couldn’t do without even one of these pieces,” Bates notes. “This is the set-up that gets me through every shoot swiftly.”

As this conversation takes place, Bates has just signed the papers to open up his first business location, which came into fruition based on Bates’ intent to expand his reach in Jupiter and Palm Beach County, as well as provide improved customer service to current and future clients.

“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years,” Bates says. “To have a creative space where I can collaborate with my colleagues and get fresh ideas going: That’s really how great things are made. Moreover, it allows people to come and feel me out and know who the person behind the camera is. For people to take a chance and work with me is a big deal and it’s something that I’m incredibly grateful for, so I want to be able to have more than photos to show for that. I want to be able to build relationships from the start and, hopefully, satisfy their need in the end.”